Lens positioning system

ABSTRACT

An actuator includes an inner element coupled to an outer element by a linear-motion bearing that provides a single degree of translational movement of the inner element with respect to the outer element along a longitudinal axis. The inner element includes a permanent magnet and the outer element includes a conductive winding with a first coil wound in first direction around a first pole of the permanent magnet and a second coil wound in a second direction around a second pole of the permanent magnet.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of linearactuators and, in particular, to a system and method for positioning alens using a linear actuator.

BACKGROUND

In prosthodontic procedures designed to implant a dental prosthesis inthe oral cavity, the dental site at which the prosthesis is to beimplanted may be measured accurately and studied carefully, so that aprosthesis such as a crown, denture or bridge, for example, can beproperly designed and dimensioned to fit in place. A good fit, forexample, enables mechanical stresses to be properly transmitted betweenthe prosthesis and the jaw and minimizes infection of the gums via theinterface between the prosthesis and the dental site.

Some procedures call for removable prosthetics to be fabricated toreplace one or more missing teeth, such as a partial or full denture, inwhich case the surface contours of the areas where the teeth are missingmay be reproduced accurately so that the resulting prosthetic fits overthe edentulous region with even pressure on the soft tissues.

In some practices, the dental site is prepared by a dental practitioner,and a positive physical model of the dental site is constructed.Alternatively, the dental site may be scanned to providethree-dimensional (3D) data of the dental site. In either case, thevirtual or real model of the dental site may be sent to a dental labthat manufactures the prosthesis based on the model. However, if themodel is deficient or undefined in certain areas, or if the preparationwas not optimally configured for receiving the prosthesis, the design ofthe prosthesis may be less than optimal. For example, if the insertionpath implied by the preparation for a closely-fitting coping wouldresult in the prosthesis colliding with adjacent teeth, the copinggeometry may be altered to avoid the collision. Further, if the area ofthe preparation containing a finish line lacks definition, it may not bepossible to properly determine the finish line and thus the lower edgeof the coping may not be properly designed. Indeed, in somecircumstances, the model is rejected and the dental practitioner thenre-scans the dental site, or reworks the preparation, so that a suitableprosthesis may be produced.

In orthodontic procedures, it can be important to provide a model of oneor both jaws. Where such orthodontic procedures are designed virtually,a virtual model of the oral cavity is also beneficial. Such a virtualmodel may be obtained by scanning the oral cavity directly, or byproducing a physical model of the dentition, and then scanning the modelwith a suitable scanner.

Thus, in both prosthodontic and orthodontic procedures, obtaining a 3Dmodel of a dental site in the oral cavity may be an initial procedurethat is performed. When the 3D model is a virtual model, the morecomplete and accurate the scans of the dental site are, the higher thequality of the virtual model, and thus the greater the ability to designan optimal prosthesis or orthodontic treatment appliance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an optical deviceaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an axial view of an actuator according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an element coupling accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a partially cutaway side view of an actuatoraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a functional block diagram of a positioning systemaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method of positioning an objectaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a partially cutaway side view of an actuatoraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an element coupling including five flexures arrangedin a rotationally symmetric pattern.

FIG. 9 illustrates an element coupling including a single flexure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an actuator according toone embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an axial view of the actuator of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing device, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein is a method and apparatus for positioning an object,such as a lens of a scanner. A positioning system includes a controllercoupled to an actuator. The actuator includes an inner element coupledto an outer element by a linear-motion bearing that provides a singledegree of translational movement of the inner element with respect tothe outer element along a longitudinal axis. The inner element maycontain a lens, and the longitudinal direction may correspond to (e.g.,be parallel to) an axis of the lens. The inner element includes apermanent magnet and the outer element includes a conductive winding.The outer element may include a first coil wound in first directionaround a hollow body that houses the inner element at a first end of thepermanent magnet and a second coil wound in a second direction aroundthe hollow body that houses the inner element at a second end of thepermanent magnet.

A current driven through the conductive winding generates a magneticfield that interacts with the magnetic field generated by the permanentmagnet to produce a force that moves the inner element in thelongitudinal direction with respect to the outer element while thelinear-motion bearing prevents the inner element from moving in otherdirections. For example, the linear-motion bearing may enable the innerelement to move along the axis of a lens in the inner element, whilekeeping the element from shifting normal to the lens axis (e.g., whilekeeping the lens axis centered).

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an optical device 22according to one embodiment. The optical device 22 may be a scanner,such as an intraoral scanner. The optical device 22 includes asemiconductor laser 28 that emits a laser light (represented by thearrow 30). The light passes through a polarizer 32 which gives rise to acertain polarization of the light passing through polarizer 32. Thelight then enters into an optic expander 34 which improves the numericalaperture of the light beam 30. The light then passes through a module 38(e.g., a grating or a micro lens array) that splits the parent beam 30into multiple incident light beams 36, represented in FIG. 1 by a singleline for ease of illustration.

The optical device 22 further includes a partially transparent mirror 40having a small central aperture. The mirror 40 allows transfer of lightfrom the laser source through the downstream optics, but reflects lighttravelling in the opposite direction. In other embodiments, rather thana partially transparent mirror, other optical components with a similarfunction may also be used, e.g. a beam splitter. The aperture in themirror 40 improves the measurement accuracy of the apparatus. As aresult of this mirror 40, the light beams will yield a light annulus onthe illuminated area of the imaged object as long as the area is not infocus and the annulus will turn into a completely illuminated spot oncein focus.

The optical device 22 further includes confocal optics 42 operating in atelecentric mode, relay optics 44, and an endoscope 46. In oneembodiment, telecentric confocal optics avoid distance-introducedmagnification changes and maintains the same magnification of the imageover a wide range of distances in the Z direction (the Z direction beingthe direction of beam propagation, also referred to as the Z axis orlens axis). The relay optics 44 allow maintenance of a certain numericalaperture of the beam's propagation.

The endoscope 46 typically includes a rigid, light-transmitting medium.The rigid, light-transmitting medium may be a hollow object definingwithin it a light transmission path or an object made of a lighttransmitting material (e.g., a glass body or tube). At its end, theendoscope typically includes a mirror of the kind ensuring a totalinternal reflection. The mirror may direct incident light beams towardsa teeth segment 26 that is being scanned. The endoscope 46 thus emitsmultiple incident light beams 48 impinging on to the surface of theteeth segment 26.

The incident light beams 48 form an array of light beams arranged in anX-Y plane propagating along the Z-axis. If the surface on which theincident light beams hit is an uneven surface, illuminated spots 52 aredisplaced from one another along the Z-axis, at different (Xi, Yi)locations. Thus, while a spot at one location may be in focus of theoptical element 42, spots at other locations may be out-of-focus.Therefore, the light intensity of the returned light beams (see below)of the focused spots will be at its peak, while the light intensity atother spots will be off peak. Thus, for each illuminated spot, multiplemeasurements of light intensity are made at different positions alongthe Z-axis. For each of such (Xi, Yi) location, typically the derivativeof the intensity over distance (Z) will be made, the Z_(i) yieldingmaximum derivative, Z₀, will be the in-focus distance. As pointed outabove, where, as a result of use of the partially transparent mirror 40,the incident light forms a light disk on the surface when out of focusand a complete light spot only when in focus, the distance derivativewill be larger when approaching in-focus position thus increasingaccuracy of the measurement.

The light scattered from each of the light spots includes a beamtravelling initially in the Z-axis along the opposite direction of theoptical path traveled by the incident light beams. Each returned lightbeam 54 corresponds to one of the incident light beams 36. Given theunsymmetrical properties of the mirror 40, the returned light beams arereflected in the direction of the detection optics 60. The detectionoptics 60 include a polarizer 62 that has a plane of preferredpolarization oriented normal to the plane polarization of polarizer 32.The returned polarized light beam 54 pass through an imaging optic 64,typically one or more lenses, and then through a matrix 66 including anarray of pinholes. A CCD (charge-coupled device) camera 68 has a matrixof sensing elements each representing a pixel of the image and each onecorresponding to one pinhole in the array 66.

The CCD camera 68 is connected to the image-capturing module 80 ofprocessor unit 24. Thus, each light intensity measured in each of thesensing elements of the CCD camera 68 is received and analyzed by aprocessor 24.

The optical device 22 further includes a control module 70 connected toa controlling operation of both the semiconductor laser 28 and anactuator 72. The actuator 72 is linked to the telecentric confocaloptics 42 to change the relative location of the focal plane of theconfocal optics 42 along the Z-axis. In a single sequence of operation,the control unit 70 induces the actuator 72 to displace the confocaloptics 42 to change the focal plane location and then, after receipt ofa feedback that the location has changed, the control module 70 willinduce the laser 28 to generate a light pulse. At the same time, thecontrol module 70 will synchronize the image capturing module 80 to grabdata representative of the light intensity from each of the sensingelements of the CCD camera 68. Then, in subsequent sequences the focalplane will change in the same manner and the data capturing willcontinue over a wide focal range.

The image capturing device 80 is connected to processing software 82which then determines the relative intensity in each pixel over theentire range of focal planes of optics 42, 44. As explained above, oncea certain light spot is in focus, the measured intensity will bemaximal. Thus, by determining the Z_(i), corresponding to the maximallight intensity or by determining the maximum displacement derivative ofthe light intensity, for each pixel, the relative position of each lightspot along the Z-axis can be determined.

Thus, data representative of the three-dimensional pattern of a surfacein the teeth segment can be obtained. This three-dimensionalrepresentation may be displayed on a display 84 and manipulated forviewing, e.g. viewing from different angles, zooming-in or out, by auser control module 86 (e.g., a computer keyboard, touchpad, mouse,etc.). In addition, the data representative of the surface topology maybe transmitted through an appropriate data port, e.g. a modem 88,through any communication network (e.g., a local area network (LAN),wide area network (WAN), public network such as the Internet, etc.) to arecipient.

FIG. 2 illustrates an axial view of an actuator 100 according to oneembodiment. The actuator 100 may be used in place of or may correspondto the actuator 72 of FIG. 1. The actuator 100 includes an inner element120 that may be moved linearly along a longitudinal axis (into and outof the page) with respect to an outer element 110. The inner element 120is coupled to the outer element 110 by one or more element couplings115. The element couplings 115 are deformable to allow the inner element120 to move with respect to the outer element 110 along the longitudinalaxis. The inner element 120 may be concentric with the outer element110. In one embodiment, the element couplings 115 are leaf spring units.

The inner element 120 may be coupled to one or more components (e.g., alens) of a telocentric main confocal optics module (e.g., telocentricmain confocal optics 42 of FIG. 1). A lens axis of such a lens and/orother components coupled to the inner element 120 may be the Z-axisdescribed with reference to FIG. 1, and may correspond to thelongitudinal axis. The inner element 120 and outer element 110 may beconcentric with the lens.

The outer element 110 is disposed concentrically around (as viewed inthe perspective of FIG. 2) the inner element 120. Although the innerelement 120 and outer element 110 of the actuator 100 are illustrated inFIG. 2 as being generally circular, the inner element 120 and outerelement 110 may be any shape. Further, although the inner element 120and outer element 110 are illustrated as being the same shape in FIG. 2,in some embodiments, they may be differently shaped. For example, theinner element 120 may be circular and the outer element 110 may besquare or octagonal. The inner element 120 and outer element 110 may bemade of metal, plastic, or any other rigid material.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an element coupling 115 (e.g., a leafspring unit) according to one embodiment. The element coupling 115 ofFIG. 3 includes an inner element region 220 that is fixed to the innerelement 120 and an outer element region 210 that is fixed to the outerelement 110. The inner element region 220 may be an inner mounting ringand the outer element region 220 may be an outer mounting ring. Theinner element region 220 and outer element region 210 are connected bythree flexures 215 (e.g., leaf spring elements). In other embodiments,the element coupling 115 may have more or fewer flexures 215.

The element couplings 115 (e.g., leaf spring units) may have rotationalsymmetry with respect to the longitudinal axis, and may be mountedorthogonal to the rotational axis. As the inner element 120 moves withrespect to the outer element 110, the flexures 215 bend. The flexures215 work together to provide a single degree of translational movementalong the longitudinal axis 10 of the actuator 100. The flexures 215similarly work together to prevent any translational movement normal tothe longitudinal axis 10. In one embodiment, the element coupling 115 isa single homogenous and contiguous piece of material (e.g., metal) asmay be stamped out of a sheet. In another embodiment, the elementcoupling 115 is made of out multiple pieces. The multiple pieces may allbe the same material, or may be composed of different materials.

Each flexure 215 is a gently curved strip of material connected at oneend to the inner element region 220 and at the opposite end to the outerelement region 210. A curved strip may provide a long enough flexure toallow longitudinal motion while still providing an open center for thelens. In another embodiment, each flexure is a straight strip ofmaterial. A straight strip of material may not twist while it bends. Inone embodiment, each flexure 215 is a leaf spring. The flexures 215 areoriented in a rotationally symmetric pattern about the longitudinal axis10, each flexure 215 being substantially perpendicular to a radial axisradiating from the longitudinal axis 10 and/or perpendicular to a linein the direction of the longitudinal axis 10, such that the threeflexures 215 generally encircle, circumscribe, or surround the innerelement region 220. Such symmetry may provide an actuator 110 that isresistant to thermal drift. That is, changes in temperature may notcause motion of the inner element 120 with respect to the outer element110.

In an embodiment of an actuator 100 including multiple element couplingssuch as the element coupling 115 illustrated in FIG. 3, the elementcouplings 115 may be disposed such that the rotational symmetries are inthe same direction (e.g., clockwise or anticlockwise) when viewed fromthe same end of the longitudinal axis (e.g., the perspective of FIG. 2).Thus, a first inner element region of a first element coupling and asecond inner element region of a second element coupling rotate in thesame direction as the inner element 120 is moved in the longitudinaldirection with respect to the outer element 110. Similarly, the innerelement 120 may rotate slightly with respect to the outer element 110 asthe inner element 120 moves along the longitudinal axis. Rotation of theinner element 120 will not affect optics due to rotational symmetry. Atleast two of the element couplings 115, when used together, form alinear-motion bearing between the outer element 110 and the innerelement 120.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates an element coupling 115 according to oneembodiment, the actuator 100 may include other types of elementcouplings 115. For example, the element couplings may be other types oflinear bearings such as a ball slide, dovetail slide, fluid bearings,roller slide, and so forth. The element couplings may be a thin membraneof a flexible material (e.g., rubber) coupled at its outer edge to theouter element 110 and through which the inner element 120 is inserted.The element coupling 115 of FIG. 3 may provide advantages over otherelement couplings in that it is substantially friction free, clearancefree, and resistant to thermal drift.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inner element 120 houses a lens assembly 130,which may include one or more simple lenses. For example, in oneembodiment, the lens assembly 130 may include two optical glass lenses.The lens axis of the lens assembly 130 defines the longitudinal axis ofthe actuator 100 and the direction of motion along which the actuator100 moves the lens assembly 130 (by moving the inner element 120 withrespect to the outer element 110). The lens assembly 130 may by coupledto the inner element 120 of the actuator 100 by a lens coupling or thelens assembly 130 may be mechanically fitted into the inner element 120.

As noted above, the inner element 120 may be moved with respect to theouter element 110. This motion can be caused in any of a number of ways,such as electromagnetism, pneumatics, electrostatics, and so forth. FIG.4 illustrates a partially cutaway side view of the actuator 100 of FIG.2 in which electromagnetism is used to move the inner element 120 withrespect to the outer element 110.

Motion of the inner element 120 with respect to the outer element 110 iscaused by a force generated by interacting magnetic fields. In oneembodiment, the inner element 120 includes a permanent magnet 122 whichis ring-shaped around the longitudinal axis 10. In other embodiments,the permanent magnet 122 may include more than one permanent magnetsand/or one or more electromagnets. The permanent magnet 122 includes afirst end 124 a associated with one magnetic pole and a second end 124 bassociated with the other magnetic pole. The magnetic poles define amagnetic axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis 10, the axis ofmotion.

The outer element 110 includes a conductive winding 111 through which acurrent may be induced by a controller. The conductive winding 111includes a first coil 112 a wound in one direction around thelongitudinal axis (e.g., clockwise), a second coil 112 b wound in theopposite direction around the longitudinal axis (e.g.,counterclockwise), and a connector 112 c connecting the first coil 112 aand the second coil 112 b. The first coil 112 a may be in series withthe second coil 112 b.

The first coil 112 a surrounds the first end 124 a of the permanentmagnet 122. Similarly, the second coil 112 b surrounds the second end124 b of the permanent magnet 122. Thus, when a current is driventhrough the conductive winding 111, a magnetic field is generated ineach of the coils 112 a, 112 b that interacts with the magnetic fieldgenerated by the permanent magnet 122. Over a short range of motion,this interaction generates a force that moves the inner element 120linearly, in the longitudinal direction, with respect to the outerelement 110. When current is driven in one direction through theconductive winding 111, the force moves the inner element 120 towardsone end of the actuator 100 and when current is driven in the oppositedirection through the conductive winding 111, the force moves the innerelement 120 toward the opposite end of the actuator 100.

FIG. 5 illustrates a functional block diagram of a positioning system400. In one embodiment, the positioning system 400 includes the actuator100 of FIG. 2. In another embodiment, the positioning system 400includes a different actuator. The positioning system 400 includes acontroller 410 that receives command data 405 indicative of desiredposition of an object (e.g., the lens assembly 130 of FIG. 2). Thecontroller 410 also receives position data from a linear encoder 420indicative of current position of the object. In particular, the linearencoder 420 provides a measure of the relative position (along thelongitudinal axis) of the inner element 120 with respect to the outerelement 110. In one embodiment, the linear encoder 420 includes a sensorand a scale. The scale may be mounted upon the inner element 120 of theactuator 100 and the sensor may be mounted upon the outer element 110 ofthe actuator 100. The linear encoder 420 may be any technology,including optical, magnetic, inductive, capacitive, and eddy currenttechnologies.

Based on the command data 405 and the position data from the linearencoder 420, the controller 410 induces a current by instructing adriver 412 to drive a current through a component of an actuator 100. Asdescribed above, the actuator 100 includes, among other components, aconductive winding 111 that includes a first coil 112 a wound in onedirection and a second coil 112 b wound in the opposite direction. Thus,in one embodiment, the controller 410 instructs the driver 412 to drivea current through a first coil 112 a wound in a first direction and asecond coil 112 b wound in a second direction. In one embodiment, thedriver 412 drives both coils with a single current (as the coils areconnected with a connector 112 c). In another embodiment, the driver 412drives each coil individually with a separate current which may be thesame or different.

The driver 412 can receive, as an input, electronic data (which may beanalog or digital) indicative of a strength of a current or voltagelevel and provides, on an output, a current of the indicated strength ora voltage of the indicated level. Although the driver 412 is illustratedas a separate component in FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the controller 410and the driver 412 may be a single component. In another embodiment, thedriver 412 is a part of the actuator 100.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method of positioning an objectaccording to one embodiment. The method 500 may be performed byprocessing logic that may include hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicatedlogic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.), software (e.g.,instructions executed by a processing device), firmware or a combinationthereof. For example, the method 500 may be performed by the controller410 of FIG. 5.

In block 510, the processing logic receives command data indicative of adesired position of an object. The command data may indicate an absolutedesired position of the object or communicate that the object is to bemoved in a particular direction generally or a particular amount.

In block 520, the processing logic receives position data indicative ofthe current position of the object. The position data may be receivedfrom a linear encoder that senses the position the object. The positiondata may be received from another source. In one embodiment, theposition data is received from the same source as the command data.

In block 530, the processing logic determines, based on the command dataand the position data, a strength of a current to be driven through afirst coil and a second coil. In one embodiment, the first coil is woundin a first direction around a first pole of a permanent magnet and thesecond coil is wound in a second direction around a second pole of thepermanent magnet. In one embodiment, a voltage level is determinedrather than a current strength, the two being interchangeable via Ohm'slaw (which states that voltage is proportional to current, theproportionality constant being deemed the resistance). In oneembodiment, the current to be driven is a direct current. In oneembodiment, the current is a non-zero current. In particular, in oneembodiment, the current is a non-zero current even when the currentposition is equal to the desired position.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the outer element 110 includes the coils112 a, 112 b and the inner element 120 includes the permanent magnet122. In an alternative embodiment, the position of the coils 112 a, 112b and the permanent magnet 122 may be switched such that the innerelement 120 includes the coils 112 a, 112 b and the outer element 110includes the permanent magnet 122. Such an embodiment is illustrated inFIG. 7.

FIG. 7 illustrates a partially cutaway side view of an actuator 310according to one embodiment. The actuator 310 is similar to the actuator100 of FIG. 4 and may be used in similar applications (e.g., the opticaldevice 22 of FIG. 1 or the positioning system 400 of FIG. 5). Theactuator 310, like the actuator 100 of FIG. 4, includes an inner element120 surrounded by an outer element 110 and coupled to the outer element110 by one or more element couplings 115.

The actuator 310 includes an outer element 110 with a permanent magnet122. In other embodiments, the permanent magnet 122 may be, instead, oneor more electromagnets and/or more than one permanent magnet. The innerelement 120 includes a conductive winding 111 with a first coil 112 awound in one direction around the longitudinal axis and a second coil112 b wound in the opposite direction around the longitudinal axis.

As in the actuator 100 of FIG. 4, the coils 112 a, 112 b are of a width(in the longitudinal direction) such that the ends 124 a, 124 b of thepermanent magnet lie within the width of the coils 112 a, 112 b.

As noted above, the actuator 100 of FIG. 4 and the actuator 310 of FIG.7 are similar. In various embodiments, it may be advantageous to selectan actuator embodiment in which the element including the coils is fixedand the element including the magnet moves. One potential advantage ofsuch a selection is the simplification of electronic routing. Forexample, connecting the coils to a driver or a controller can besimplified if they are in a fixed position.

One potential advantage of the actuator 100 of FIG. 4 in which the coils112 a, 112 b are placed on the outer element 100 is that heat generatedby the current flowing through the coils 112 a, 112 b is more easilydissipated.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the conductive winding 111 includes twocoils 112 a, 112 b. In an alternative embodiment, the conductive windingmay include only one coil surrounding one end of the permanent magnet122. One potential advantage of using two coils is to increase (in someinstances double) the mechanical force generated from a single drivencurrent. Another potential advantage of using two coils is to stabilizethe inner element and restrict movement (translation or rotation) indirections other than along the longitudinal axis 10.

As described above, the element coupling 115 of FIG. 3 includes threeflexures 215 arranged in a rotationally symmetric pattern. FIG. 8illustrates an element coupling 315 including five flexures 317 arrangedin a rotationally symmetric pattern. It should be noted that FIG. 8illustrates a plan view of the unflexed element coupling 315 whereasFIG. 3 is a perspective view of the flexed element coupling 115. As inthe element coupling 115 of FIG. 3, the flexures 317 of the elementcoupling 315 of FIG. 8 are generally orthogonal to (1) the longitudinalaxis (into and out of the page in FIG. 8) and (2) a radial axis 15 a, 15b perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

Whereas the element coupling 115 of FIG. 3 includes three flexures 215and the element coupling 315 of FIG. 8 includes five flexures, it is tobe appreciated that an element coupling may have any number of flexuresarranged in the manner described above. An element coupling may have oneflexure, two flexures, or more than two flexures. In some embodiments,the flexures do not surround the inner element joining.

FIG. 9 illustrates an element coupling 325 including a single flexure.The element coupling includes an inner element region 332 coupled to anouter element region 337 by a single flexure 335. The flexure 335 is astrip of material generally orthogonal to (1) the longitudinal axis 10and (2) a radial axis 15 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

In an embodiment of an actuator including two element couplings such asthe element coupling 325 illustrated in FIG. 8, the element couplings325, 327 may be disposed such that the rotational symmetries are inopposite directions (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise) when viewedfrom the same end of the longitudinal axis.

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an actuator 600 accordingto one embodiment. FIG. 11 illustrates a side view of the actuator 600of FIG. 10. The actuator 600 of FIG. 10 has a compact form factor and ahigh ratio of aperture diameter to total diameter. The actuator 600 issimilar in many respects to and functions in much the same ways as theactuator 100 of FIG. 2, but differs in some respects as detailed below.

The actuator 600 includes an inner element 620 substantially housed byan outer element 610. The inner element 620 supports a lens assembly 630(which in this case includes two optical glass lenses). The lensassembly 630 includes lenses of, for example, telecentric main confocaloptics 42 of FIG. 1. The inner element 620 is coupled to the outerelement 610 by two element couplings 615. The element couplings 615 aredisposed at the longitudinal ends of the inner element 620 and outerelement 610 (rather than between them as in the actuator 100 of FIG. 2).In particular, the actuator 200 includes a first element coupling 615that couples a first end along the longitudinal axis of the innerelement 620 to a first end along the longitudinal axis of the outerelement 610 and a second element coupling 615 that couples second endalong the longitudinal axis of the inner element 620 to a second endalong the longitudinal axis of the outer element 610. This may increasethe ratio of the aperture diameter to total diameter. The outer elementmay have a fixed position, and the inner element may be movable along alens axis of the of the lens assembly 630.

The element couplings 615 include an outer element region 710 forcoupling with the outer element 610 and an inner element region 720 forcoupling with the inner element 610. The regions 710, 720 are joined bythree flexures 715 arranged in a manner substantially similar to thatdescribed above with respect to the element coupling 115 of FIG. 3. Thetwo element couplings 615 may act as a linear-motion bearing.

The two element couplings 615 may provide friction free movement betweenthe inner element and the outer element. Additionally, changes intemperature do not cause the lens assembly 630 to lose alignment. In oneembodiment, the two element couplings 615 act as a linear-motion bearingalong a travel distance that is approximately 10% of a length of theflexures. In one embodiment, the length of the flexures is betweenapproximately 20 and 40 millimeters.

The element couplings 615 are joined to the inner element 620 and outerelement 610 by screws 617 which pass through holes in the elementcouplings (e.g., holes in the respective couplers 710, 720) and whichsecure the element couplings 615 with the respective element 610, 620.Alternatively, the regions 710, 720 may be secured to the inner element620 and outer element 610 using glues or other adhesives, bolts, clasps,magnets, and so forth.

The inner element 620 of the actuator 600 includes a permanent magnet622 and the outer element 610 includes a conductive winding 611 with afirst coil 612 a wound in a first direction around a first pole of thepermanent magnet 622 and with a second coil 612 b wound in a seconddirection around a second pole of the permanent magnet 622. The firstcoil 612 a is in general registry (lateral overlap) with one of themagnetic poles of the permanent magnet 622, and the second coil 612 b isin general registry (lateral overlap) with the other magnetic pole ofthe permanent magnet 622. The actuator 600 includes a linear encoder inthe form of a sensor 692 mounted on the outer element 610 and a scale694 mounted on the inner element 620.

Advantageously, the actuator 600 may be implemented in a small packagewith minimal weight. The actuator 600 may enable rapid changes in focusfor a scanner that uses confocal microscopy. For example, in oneembodiment, the actuator 600 may be moved at speed of approximately 60millimeters per second or with an acceleration of up to seven g's(approximately 68.67 m/s²). In particular, a current driven through theconductive winding 611 generates a magnetic field that interacts withthe magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet to produce a forcethat moves the inner element 620 in the longitudinal direction withrespect to the outer element 610 while the element couplings 615 preventthe inner element 620 from moving in other directions. Thus, the elementcouplings 615 may enable the inner element 620 to move along the axis ofthe lens assembly 630 in the inner element 620 to adjust the focuslength of the lens assembly 630, while keeping the inner element 620from shifting normal to the lens axis (e.g., while keeping the lens axiscentered).

FIG. 12 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in theexample form of a computing device 900 within which a set ofinstructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, may be executed. In alternativeembodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or theInternet. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a set-topbox (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, aweb appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers)that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein.

The example computing device 900 includes a processing device 902, amain memory 904 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.), astatic memory 906 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory(SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory (e.g., a data storage device 928),which communicate with each other via a bus 908.

Processing device 902 represents one or more general-purpose processorssuch as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. Moreparticularly, the processing device 902 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor,processor implementing other instruction sets, or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. Processing device 902may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor,or the like. Processing device 902 is configured to execute theprocessing logic (instructions 926) for performing operations and stepsdiscussed herein.

The computing device 900 may further include a network interface device922 for communicating with a network 964. The computing device 900 alsomay include a video display unit 910 (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 912(e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 914 (e.g., a mouse), and asignal generation device 920 (e.g., a speaker).

The data storage device 928 may include a machine-readable storagemedium (or more specifically a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium) 924 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions 926embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. Wherein a non-transitory storage medium refers to a storagemedium other than a carrier wave. The instructions 926 may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the main memory 904 and/orwithin the processing device 902 during execution thereof by thecomputer device 900, the main memory 904 and the processing device 902also constituting computer-readable storage media.

The computer-readable storage medium 924 may also be used to store apositioning module 950 to perform the functions of the controller 410 ofFIG. 5, the method 500 of FIG. 6, or another function described here.The computer readable storage medium 924 may also store a softwarelibrary containing methods that call the positioning module 950. Whilethe computer-readable storage medium 924 is shown in an exampleembodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable storagemedium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media(e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated cachesand servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include anymedium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions forexecution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any oneor more of the methodologies of the present invention. The term“computer-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical andmagnetic media.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will beapparent upon reading and understanding the above description. Althoughembodiments of the present invention have been described with referenceto specific example embodiments, it will be recognized that theinvention is not limited to the embodiments described, but can bepracticed with modification and alteration within the spirit and scopeof the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings areto be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A positioning system comprising: an actuatorcomprising: an inner element comprising a permanent magnet with a firstpole and a second pole that define a magnetic axis parallel to alongitudinal axis; an outer element comprising a first coil wound in afirst direction around the first pole and a second coil wound in asecond direction around the second pole, wherein the outer element iscoupled to a body of a scanner; and a linear-motion bearing that couplesthe inner element to the outer element, the linear-motion bearingproviding a single degree of translational movement of the inner elementwith respect to the outer element along the longitudinal axis; and acontroller to induce a current through the first coil and second coil tomove the inner element with respect to the outer element along thelongitudinal axis.
 2. The positioning system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a lens assembly coupled to the inner element, the lensassembly having a lens axis that corresponds to the longitudinal axis,wherein movement of the inner element with respect to the outer elementadjusts a focus of the lens assembly.
 3. The positioning system of claim1, wherein the inner element is concentric with the outer element. 4.The positioning system of claim 1, wherein the linear-motion bearingcomprises a first element coupling that couples a first end along thelongitudinal axis of the inner element to a first end along thelongitudinal axis of the outer element and a second element couplingthat couples a second end along the longitudinal axis of the innerelement to a second end along the longitudinal axis of the outerelement.
 5. The positioning system of claim 4, wherein: the firstelement coupling comprises one or more first flexures that connect aninner element region of the first element coupling to an outer elementregion of the first element coupling, wherein the inner element regionof the first element coupling connects to the inner element and theouter element region of the first element coupling connects to the outerelement; and the second element coupling comprises one or more secondflexures that connect an inner element region of the second elementcoupling to an outer element region of the second element coupling,wherein the inner element region of the second element coupling connectsto the inner element and the outer element region of the second elementcoupling connects to the outer element.
 6. The positioning system ofclaim 5, wherein the one or more first flexures comprises threeflexures.
 7. The positioning system of claim 5, wherein the one or morefirst flexures comprise one or more leaf springs.
 8. The positioningsystem of claim 5, wherein the one or more first flexures generallyencircle the inner element region.
 9. The positioning system of claim 1,further comprising a linear encoder to measure a current position of theinner element with respect to the outer element, wherein the controlleris to: receive command data indicative of a desired position of theinner element with respect to the outer element; receive position datafrom the linear encoder indicative of the current position of the innerelement with respect to the outer element; and induce the current basedon the received command data and received position data.
 10. A devicecomprising: an outer element; an inner element disposed within the outerelement, the inner element comprising a lens assembly having a lensaxis; and a linear-motion bearing that couples the inner element to theouter element, the linear-motion bearing providing a single degree oftranslational movement of the inner element along the lens axis, thelinear-motion bearing comprising: a first element coupling comprising afirst inner element region coupled to the inner element, a first outerelement region coupled to the outer element, and_one or more firstflexures that connect the first inner element region to the first outerelement region of the first element coupling; and a second elementcoupling comprising a second inner element region coupled to the innerelement, a second outer element region coupled to the outer element, andone or more second flexures that connect the second inner element regionto the second outer element region of the second element coupling,wherein the first inner element region and second inner element regionrotate in a same direction as the inner element is moved along the lensaxis.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the first element coupling iscoupled to a first end of the inner element and a first end of the outerelement along the lens axis and the second element coupling is coupledto a second end of the inner element and a second end of the outerelement along the lens axis.
 12. The device of claim 10, wherein the oneor more first flexures bend as the inner element is moved along the lensaxis with respect to the outer element.
 13. The device of claim 10,wherein the one or more first flexures comprises at least threeflexures, and the first element coupling comprises a homogenousmaterial.
 14. The device of claim 10, wherein the first inner elementregion, the first outer element region, the inner element, the outerelement and the lens assembly are all approximately concentric.
 15. Anapparatus comprising: an outer element having a first end and a secondend along a longitudinal axis; an inner element disposed within theouter element, the inner element having a first end and a second endalong the longitudinal axis; a first element coupling comprising a firstouter element region attached to the first end of the outer element, afirst inner element region attached to the first end of the innerelement, and three or more first flexures, wherein each of the three ormore first flexures is a strip of material that is connected at one endto the first outer element region and at an opposite end to the firstinner element region and that is generally perpendicular to a radialaxis radiating from the longitudinal axis, and wherein the three or morefirst flexures generally circumscribe the first inner element region;and a second element coupling comprising a second outer element regionattached to the second end of the outer element, a second inner elementregion attached to the second end of the inner element, and three ormore second flexures, wherein each of the three or more second flexuresis a strip of material that is connected at one end to the second outerelement region and at an opposite end to the second inner element regionand that is generally perpendicular to a radial axis radiating from thelongitudinal axis, and wherein the three or more second flexuresgenerally circumscribe the second inner element region.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the three or more first flexuresand each of the three or more second flexures is curved or straight. 17.The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising: a lens assembly coupledto the inner element, the lens assembly having a lens axis thatcorresponds to the longitudinal axis, wherein movement of the innerelement with respect to the outer element adjusts a focus of the lensassembly.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the three or more firstflexures comprise three or more leaf springs.
 19. The apparatus of claim15, wherein: the inner element comprises a permanent magnet with a firstpole and a second pole that define a magnetic axis parallel to thelongitudinal axis; the outer element comprises a first coil wound in afirst direction around the first pole and a second coil wound in asecond direction around the second pole; and the apparatus furthercomprises a controller to induce current through the first coil and thesecond coil to move the inner element with respect to the outer elementalong the longitudinal axis.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, furthercomprising a linear encoder to measure a current position of the innerelement with respect to the outer element, wherein the controller is to:receive command data indicative of a desired position of the innerelement with respect to the outer element; receive position data fromthe linear encoder indicative of the current position of the innerelement with respect to the outer element; and induce the current basedon the received command data and received position data.
 21. Apositioning system comprising: an actuator comprising: an inner elementcomprising a permanent magnet with a first pole and a second pole thatdefine a magnetic axis parallel to a longitudinal axis; an outer elementcomprising a first coil wound in a first direction around the first poleand a second coil wound in a second direction around the second pole;and a linear-motion bearing that couples the inner element to the outerelement, the linear-motion bearing providing a single degree oftranslational movement of the inner element with respect to the outerelement along the longitudinal axis, wherein the linear-motion bearingcomprises one or more first leaf springs that couple a first end alongthe longitudinal axis of the inner element to a first end along thelongitudinal axis of the outer element and one or more second leafsprings that couple a second end along the longitudinal axis of theinner element to a second end along the longitudinal axis of the outerelement; and a controller to induce a current through the first coil andsecond coil to move the inner element with respect to the outer elementalong the longitudinal axis.
 22. The positioning system of claim 21,further comprising: a lens assembly coupled to the inner element, thelens assembly having a lens axis that corresponds to the longitudinalaxis, wherein movement of the inner element with respect to the outerelement adjusts a focus of the lens assembly.
 23. The positioning systemof claim 21, wherein the inner element is concentric with the outerelement.
 24. The positioning system of claim 21, wherein the one or morefirst leaf springs generally encircle the inner element.
 25. Thepositioning system of claim 21, further comprising a linear encoder tomeasure a current position of the inner element with respect to theouter element, wherein the controller is to: receive command dataindicative of a desired position of the inner element with respect tothe outer element; receive position data from the linear encoderindicative of the current position of the inner element with respect tothe outer element; and induce the current based on the received commanddata and received position data.
 26. A device comprising: an outerelement; an inner element disposed within the outer element, the innerelement comprising a lens assembly having a lens axis; and alinear-motion bearing that couples the inner element to the outerelement, the linear-motion bearing providing a single degree oftranslational movement of the inner element along the lens axis, thelinear-motion bearing comprising at least a first element couplingcomprising: a first inner element region coupled to the inner element; afirst outer element region coupled to the outer element; and at leastthree flexures that connect the first inner element region to the firstouter element region of the first element coupling, wherein the firstelement coupling comprises a homogenous material.
 27. The device ofclaim 26, wherein the first element coupling is coupled to a first endof the inner element and a first end of the outer element along the lensaxis and a second element coupling is coupled to a second end of theinner element and a second end of the outer element along the lens axis.28. The device of claim 27, wherein the first inner element region, thefirst outer element region, the inner element, the outer element and thelens assembly are all approximately concentric.
 29. The device of claim26, wherein the at least three flexures bend as the inner element ismoved along the lens axis with respect to the outer element.